willson



Jun 8. 63 -r. c. WILLSON 3,094,276

MEANS FOR MOUNTING PHOTOGRAPHING DEVICE ON A VOTING MACHINE, OR THE LIKE Filed Aug. 2, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 2 INVENTOR.

THOMAS CARROLL WILLSON ATTOR NEY June 18, 1963 -r. c. WILLSON MEANS FOR MOUNTING PHOTOGRAPHING DEVICE ON A VOTING MACHINE, OR THE LIKE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 2, 1.960

FIG. 8

INVENTOR.

THOMAS CARROLL WI LLSON ATTORNEY United States Patent Filed Aug. 2, 1960, Ser. No. 52,309 3 Claims. (Cl. 23550) This invention relates to a voting machine of the type shown in Shoup Patent No. 2,054,102.

A voting machine of the type referred to includes vote counters which record the total number of votes cast for each of the candidates and, in order to insure against fraud, the vote counters are inspected by watchers for the contending political parties to make sure that the vote counters are set at zero before the electors begin voting, said vote counters being again inspected, after the voting is completed, to ascertain the total number of votes cast for each candidate. The losing candidates sometimes ask for a recount, or charge that the machine was tampered with, and, when such disputes arise, it becomes necessary to examine the voting machines. Because this posisibility exists for quite a while atter each election, it is the practice to seal and impound the voting machines for the length of time during which a dissatisfied candidate has the right to complain. Sealing and impounding the machines for the purpose stated renders them unavailable for use until the period during which a complaint may be made has expired. Voting machines are expensive, and keeping the middle increases the cost of elections. Furthermore, machines of this type are usually stored in a private, or in a public, warehouse, or other storage facility, and even if a special guard is maintained, there is no assurance that the machines will not be tampered with while in storage. In fact, the mere breaking of a seal on a machine will render the totals shown by the counters of said machine inadmissible in evidence, and this can have very serious results. Also, referenece to the voting machines after the election is completed makes it necessary for the election officers to go to the place where the machines are stored, or for the machines to be brought to the offices of the election officers, thus involving inconvenience and expense. To avoid these difliculties, it has heretofore been proposed to photograph the vote counters immediately before the voting has begun, so as to have incontrovertible evidence that the counters were set at zero before any votes were cast, and to photograph the vote counters immediately after the voting has been completed in order to have incontrovertible evidence as to'the total number of votes received by each candidate, thus making it unnecessary to seal and impound the machines, and making further reference to the machines unnecessary. Examples of the application of photographic equipment to voting machines are disclosed in the following patents: Petit, No. 1,977,453; Longoria, No. 2,038,302; Petit, No. 2,123,151; Hineline, No. 2,136,262; and I-Iineline, No. 2,203,906.

Because the expense involved in making a multi-lens camera, and in making a film large enough, and in providing equipment large enough to develop such a large film, is very great, it is not practical to photograph all of the vote counters, which are spread over an area of about 40 inches square, at one exposure. Using a single lens camera, which can only photograph a fraction of the total number of the vote counters at one exposure, is practical but, in order to photograph the counters without overlapping and without missing any, and, in order to provide uniform and clear pictures from which the relatively small numerals on the vote counters can be read, it is necessary that the lens be brought into exact registration with a predetermined number of counters at each exposure, and

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it is necessary that the distance between the lens and the vote counters is kept constant.

It is therefore one object of this invention to produce improved mounting means which permits rapid movement of the camera into registration with predetermined groups of vote counters while insuring uniform spacing of the lens relative to the vote counters in all positions of the camera.

A further object of the invention is to produce improved mounting means which is light, durable and compact, and which can be instantly applied to, or removed from, the voting machine whereby one camera can be used to photograph the counters of a large number of voting machines.

These and other objects are attained by my invention as set forth in the following specification and the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the application of the mounting means of my invention to a voting machine.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged front elevational view of the same.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view, partly in section and partly in elevation, looking in the direction of line 3--3 on FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged diagrammatic view looking in the direction of line 44 on FIG. 2, and showing details of construction of the camera-supporting mechanism, the same being shown in camera-supporting position.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged diagrammatic view looking in the direction of line 5-5 on FIG. 2, and showing the camerasupporting parts in non-supporting position.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view of the camera-supporting mechanism shown in FIGS. 4 and 5.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged fragmentary view looking in the direction of line 7-7 on FIG. 8.

FIG. 8 is similar to FIG. 2, but showing another embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 9 is an enlarged sectional view looking in the direction of line 99 on FIG. 8.

Since the voting machine illustrated may be conventional, and forms no part of the present invention, it is not shown or described in detail. It is sufiicient to point out that 10 designates the front side of the machine, that is,

the side which carries voting keys 12 which are operated by the voters, and counters 14 which record the votes cast by'the manipulation of the corresponding keys. The voting machine is encased in a housin which is also immaterial to the present disclosure except for the upper portion 16 thereof, from which the camera mounting means of this invention is suspended.

The camera proper also forms no part of the present invention, and it is therefore neither shown nor described in detail. Instead, it is shown only in outline, and is designated by reference numeral 20.

The means for mounting the camera 20 in registration with a predetermined number of vote counters, and for permitting movement of the camera to various selected positions across the face of the voting machine, and from one machine to another, includes two rails 22 and 24 which are provided with oppositely facing guide slots 26 for slidably receiving flanges 28 which project laterally from the opposite sides of the camera casing to guide the latter in its vertical motion relative to the rails.

In the embodiment of FIG. 1, the rails, which are braced together by upper and lower cross bars 30 and 31, are suspended from upper portion 16 of the voting machine housing by engaging key hole slots 32, which are formed in upper cross bar 30, with the heads of screws 34 carried by upper housing portion 16.

In the embodiment of FIG. 8, the upper housing portion 16 is provided with a track 36 on which rollers 38, which are carried by upper cross bar 30 of rails 22 and 24, are adaptedto ride as best shown in FIGS. 8 and 9.

The camera positioning andsupporting means includes a number of shafts 40, 42 and 44, which are journaled for rotation about their axes in suitable bearings not shown,

and each of which fixedly carries a pair ofsleeves 46, one.

adjacent rail 22 and one adjacent rail 24. As will be seen from FIG. 6, each sleeve has a supporting lug 48 which, in a first position, supports the camera, and in a second position, is out of the path of movement of the camera. Each sleeve 46 also has a lug 50 which in said first position abuts rib 52 formed on the inner side of each rail to limit rotation of the shaft, and which in said second position is also out of the way. Each shaft is provided with an operating handle 54, by means of which the shaft is rotated from, and to, said first and second positions.-

Ihe-operation is as follows:

Before an election is begun, rails 22 and 24, with the camera 20 mounted thereon, are suspended from upper housing portion 16, as shown in FIG. 1, or in FIG. 8. As shown in FIGS; 1 'and 2 and- 8, the camera is resting on supporting lugs 48 of sleeves 46 on shaft 44, and stop lugs In this J group of vote counters, rails 22 and 24 are moved to the rapidly and clearly photographed by a limited number of exposures.- After the entire side of the machine has been photographed, the rails are detached and the machine is ready for use. At the endof the election,the nails are again applied to the machine and the operation is repeated;

What I claim is: 1. The combination with a voting machine of the type which includes vote recording counters and a camera'for photographing said counters,

said counters covering an arealarger than the field: of

the camera,

of a supporting device for mounting said camera in registration with various predeterminedportions of said area,

said device including a pair of spaced, vertical rails providing a track,

means for movably and detach-ably suspending said rails from said voting machine in registration with said counters,

said rails having channelsformed therein,

means'carried by said camera for engaging said channels slidably to mount said camera on said rails,

shafts journaled for rotation in said rails anddisposed substantially normal to said rails,-

a pair of stops-carried by each of said shafts, one near each of said rails, and

means for rotating said shafts to move said stops into a first position in which said stops arrest the movement ofsaid camera relative to said rails, and to a second position in which said stops are out of the path of movement of said camera,

said stops being so disposed along said rails that the lens of a camera supported by any pair of said stops In other words, by moving the 4 w. will be in focal registration with a predetermined portion of said area. 2. A device for movably and detachably supporting a camera in operative relation to predetermined portions of an object to be photographed,

said object having an area larger thanthe area of the W field of the camera,

said device including a carriage for supporting said of said carriageand on the facing sides of said rails mounting said carriage for free sliding movement relative to said rails,. shafts journaled for, rotation in said rails and disposed substantially normal to said rails,.

a pair of stops carried by each of said shafts, one near each of said rails,-and

means for rotating said shafts to move said stops into a first p0siti0n-in which saidstops arrest the movement of said camera relative to said rails, and to a second. position in which said stops are out of the i path of movement of said camera,

said stops being so disposed along said rails that the lens of. a camera supported by. any pair of said stopsv will. be in focal registration. with a predetermined portion of said area.

3. A device for detachably and movably mounting a camerainzoperative relation to an object to be; photographed,

isaid object having an. area larger than thefield'of said camera, i said device including a vertical frame coextensiveiwith. the length of said.

area vertically considered, the width of said framebeing less than the, width of said area, horizontally considered,

mounting means detachably mounting said frame. in

registration with .a selectedvertical portion of said,

area,

means mounting the camera for free sliding relativeto,

said frame, and stops intermediate the ends of said frameand movable to a first position in which they permit the free movement of the camera fromthe top to the, bottom of said frame, said stops being movable'to a second position in which they limit the movement of the camera relative to,

said .frame, the width of the frame and the location of they stops being calibrated .sothat movement of the frame into registration with successive vertical portions of said area brings the field of the camera. into registration with non-overlapping,horizontally successive portions of said. area and so that limitation of the vertical movement of the camera by said stopsbrings the camera into registration with non-overlapping, vertically successive portions of said area.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 954,290 Huebner Apr. 5, 1910 1,787,662 Boedicker Ian. 6, 1931 2,038,302 Longoria Apr. 21, 1936 2,348,457 Drehs May 9, 1944 2,548,466 Carlsen Apr. 10, 1951 

1. THE COMBINATION WITH A VOTING MACHINE OF THE TYPE WHICH INCLUDES VOTE RECORDING COUNTERS AND A CAMERA FOR PHOTOGRAPHING SAID COUNTERS, SAID COUNTERS COVERING AN AREA LARGER THAN THE FIELD OF THE CAMERA, OF A SUPPORTING DEVICE FOR MOUNTING SAID CAMERA IN REGISTRATION WITH VARIOUS PREDETERMINED PORTIONS OF SAID AREA, SAID DEVICE INCLUDING A PAIR OF SPACED, VERTICAL RAILS PROVIDING A TRACK, MEANS FOR MOVABLY AND DETACHABLY SUSPENDING SAID RAILS FROM SAID VOTING MACHINE IN REGISTRATION WITH SAID COUNTERS, SAID RAILS HAVING CHANNELS FORMED THEREIN, MEANS CARRIED BY SAID CAMERA FOR ENGAGING SAID CHANNELS SLIDABLY TO MOUNT SAID CAMERA ON SAID RAILS, SHAFTS JOURNALED FOR ROTATION IN SAID RAILS AND DISPOSED SUBSTANTIALLY NORMAL TO SAID RAILS, A PAIR OF STOPS CARRIED BY EACH OF SAID SHAFTS, ONE NEAR EACH OF SAID RAILS, AND MEANS FOR ROTATING SAID SHAFTS TO MOVE SAID STOPS INTO A FIRST POSITION IN WHICH SAID STOPS ARREST THE MOVEMENT OF SAID CAMERA RELATIVE TO SAID RAILS, AND TO A SECOND POSITION IN WHICH SAID STOPS ARE OUT OF THE PATH OF MOVEMENT OF SAID CAMERA, SAID STOPS BEING SO DISPOSED ALONG SAID RAILS THAT THE LENS OF A CAMERA SUPPORTED BY ANY PAIR OF SAID STOPS WILL BE IN FOCAL REGISTRATION WITH A PREDETERMINED PORTION OF SAID AREA. 